Can't Move On
by Sbutler287
Summary: Sara is getting married and Michael is still trying to move on. When he realizes he can't he decides to try and win her back.
1. Chapter 1

What's Going On...

Michael broke out of Fox River and tried to contact Sara but she didn't want to get mixed up in the conspiracy so she didn't go with him. It's 1 year since the escape, Michael and Lincoln have been exonerated and are living in Panama. Sara is now living in Indiana.

Chapter 1

Michael

Michael sat a chair in his living room running his hand over the worn down newspaper clipping. It read in big letters: GOVENOR'S DAUGHTER TO WED.

"Michael?" he heard behind him "It's 2 in the morning what are you still doing up?" Lincoln asked coming up to him.

"Couldn't sleep." he stated plainly without taking his eyes off the clipping in his hands.

"You have to just forget about it man before you get anymore crazy than you already are."

"It's not that simple Linc."

"Sure it is. If she did it so can you." Lincoln replied making his way back to his bedroom "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Maybe Linc was right, maybe he should move on.

"She looks happy." he said to himself referring to the picture of Sara and her fiancée on the cut out.

He walked over to the fireplace in front of him.

"Goodbye Sara," he said simply as he threw the clipping into the blazing fire and headed off to bed.

Michael woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go. Today was the day he was finally put the past behind him and start living in the now.

"Good Morning," he said walking into the kitchen where Lincoln and LJ where eating breakfast.

"Good Morning," Lincoln replied a little confused at his brothers happy mood.

"What?" Michael asked noticing the look on Lincolns face as he poured his orange juice.

"Nothing, you're just unusually upbeat this morning. Lately all you've done is sulk around the house."

"Not anymore, from now on I'm going to take your advice and start moving on.

"Great! And I have just the way for you to do it." Lincoln said.

"Just what might that be?" Michael asked intrigued by his brothers' relationship advice.

"A date." Lincoln replied as a huge grin swept across his face.

"Um, okay." Michael said a little uneasy. "Who do you suggest?"

"That blonde chick at the sports store... um what's her name."

"Emily?"

"Yeah. What about her?" Lincoln asked.

"Linc I don't know.."

"Oh come on man, she's perfect. She's always flirting with you and she's hot. What more could you want?" Lincoln said pleading his case.

"Fine, I'll ask her out." Michael said ready to get Lincoln off his back. But he wasn't to sure he was ready.

Sara

Sara sat at the counter in her kitchen lost in thought. She was so out of it she didn't even notice someone else had come in.

"Sara...Sara..are you in there?" John asked waving his hand in front of her face.

"What? Oh I'm sorry I didn't even know you were here." Sara said a little embarrassed.

"I can see that. What were thinking about anyway?"

"Oh nothing, just some work stuff." Sara lied.

"Okay.. Well I just thought I'd stop by and see my beautiful fiancée before work." he said giving her a quick kiss "That...and my coffee maker is broken."

"So you admit it, you're only marrying me for my coffee." Sara joked.

"You caught me. I'm sorry I wish I could stay longer but I have to get down to the office."

"That's fine I have to go pretty soon too." Sara said turning back to her paper.

"Alright, see you later." John said as he made his way out the door.

Sara let out a deep sigh once he was gone and she was alone again. She hated lying to him but how she supposed to tell him that she was thinking about another man when they're supposed to be getting married?

It wasn't unusual for her to be thinking about him, but lately she couldn't help but notice it was becoming more and more frequent. Frustrated at herself for giving into her one weakness once again Sara collected her things and headed out the door.

"Michael Scofield is no longer a part of my life anymore and I just need to move on." she yelled to herself once again like she had done so many times before.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Michael

Michael knocked nervously on the door and waited for an answer.

"Hey Michael." Emily said opening the door.

"Hi." Michael said putting on a smile "You look very nice."

"I know." Emily replied fluffing her hair.

"Okay, shall we." Michael asked pointing to the car.

"Let's go." she said grabbing his arm and walking to the car.

Michael tried to look interested in what Emily was saying but he didn't know if he could take anymore of her babbling. He tuned her out and tried to picture he was with someone else anyone else. But only one person came to mind. Sara.

He imagined how beautiful she would look in that dress and how her hair would fall gracefully in little curls over her shoulders. Sure Emily was attractive and she did look good in the dress but let's face it she was no Sara. Just a poor substitute.

Realizing what he was doing, Michael shook his head to clear his mind of it. How could he make this whole thing work if he couldn't make it 20 minutes without thinking about her?

"So what do you think Michael?" Emily's voice finally broke him of his trance.

"I think that's a good idea." Michael replied hoping that answer would suit whatever it was she was asking.

"I'll be right back." Emily said standing up. "Have to go to the bathroom."

"Thank God!" Michael said once she disappeared behind the bathroom door.

"I know what you mean," the waiter said coming up to his table "I can't stand her babbling and she's not even my date."

Michael nodded and buried his head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked sitting back down in front of him.

Michael saw the opportunity and knew he couldn't pass it up. "Actually no. I'm sorry but I'm not really feeling well. I think we should call it a night."

"Yeah, because I don't want you to throw up on me or anything." Emily agreed.

Trying to keep in his smile Michael called for the waiter.

"Yes," the waiter asked coming to the table.

"Could we please have the check?" Michael asked clutching his stomach.

"Sure here you go." the waiter said giving him a little wink realizing Michael's act.

Michael looked over at Emily hoping that she hadn't seen that.

He breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was too absorbed in checking herself out in a nearby mirror to notice.

"How did it go?" Lincoln asked excitedly as Michael came through the door.

"Just wonderful." Michael replied sarcastically as he plopped down on the couch.

"What happened?"

"It was a complete nightmare. She was so self absorbed and has absolutely no class. I even pretended to get sick to leave early. I mean compared to Sa..." Michael trailed off.

"So we're back to that?"

Michael nodded "I guess this date made me realize that 'moving on' isn't for me. There's only one girl for me and being with anyone else would be settling and that's not what I want."

"I'm proud of you little brother." Lincoln said "So when do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sara

Sara was so wrapped up in the paperwork she was doing that she almost didn't hear the knock on her door.

"Come in." she said not taking her eyes off the papers in front of her.

"Sara," she heard a deep familiar voice.

"Michael?" she looked up to see Michael standing there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked not believing this was happening.

"I had to come and find you." he said stepping closer to her.

"Michael, you're too late I'm getting married." she said with a shaky voice.

"It's never too late Sara." he said taking her in his arms.

She knew she should pull away but only pulled herself closer as he kissed her.

He pulled away momentarily to look into her eyes.

"Sara, I love you." she heard Michael say as he leaned back in.

"Sara...Sara..." she felt herself being shook.

She snapped her eyes open to find her best friend towering over her.

"Heather?" she asked confused "What's going on?"

"You fell asleep." Heather told her in concern "Are you okay? You've been working too hard lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sara said giving her a reassuring smile.

"Okay. Well hurry up, I'm starving and our lunch break will be over soon."

"Alright I'll meet you outside, I just have to grab my purse and we're out of here."

Heather nodded in agreement and headed towards the door.

Sara slumped back into her chair once Heather shut the door behind her.

She sighed and ran her hands over her face.

"This is just getting worse." she said to herself as she collected her things and headed out the door.

"So what were you dreaming about?" Heather pried from across the table as they waited for their lunch to arrive.

"Nothing special." Sara lied.

"Don't lie to me. Whatever you were dreaming about you had the biggest smile I've ever seen on you since I met you."

"I don't know if I should be talking about this." she blushed in return.

"Come on. If you can't tell your best friend who can you tell?"

"I guess your right." Sara admitted in defeat.

"Alright so dish. Who were you dreaming about?"

"Michael..." Sara said looking down in embarrassment.

"Whoa Michael Scofield, Michael" her friend sat up in shock.

"Yes."

"So what happened in this dream?" she pried further.

"He came back for me..." Sara trailed off.

"And..."

"And we kissed." Sara didn't think she could get any more red than she already was but sure enough she did.

"Oh my God." Heather squealed in excitement.

"Not so loud." Sara said as everyone stared over at them.

"Sara, I'm confused. Aren't you getting married to John in 7 days?"

"Yeah, that's what's so bad about it. Lately I can't seem to think of anything or anyone else but Michael. It's been a year; I should be over this by now. I mean he's probably married and hasn't given me a single thought this whole time."

"Well you know what this means don't you?"

"What?" Sara asked slumping back into her chair.

"You still love him."

"Now that's ridiculous." Sara laughed as their food was set in front of them.

"Whatever you say." Heather said knowing how stubborn Sara could be.

"Maybe she's right." Sara said to herself as she watched Heather dive into her salad "Actually I know she's right."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"That's probably John..." Sara said into the phone when she heard the knock at her door "Alright see you at seven."

She hung up and made her way to her front door.

"Did you forget your..." Sara said opening the door.

Michael just stood there. He knew he should probably say something but as soon as she had opened the door all he had planned on telling her was suddenly lost.

"Hi..." he finally managed to choke out.

"Hi..." she replied obviously as lost for words as he was.

"Michael, what are you doing here?" Sara asked snapping from her trance.

"I had to come and find you." he replied.

"Michael, I don't think..."

"Please Sara. Just five minutes, that's all I'm asking." he interrupted.

"Okay." she reluctantly agreed "Come in."

Michael stepped inside and followed her into the kitchen.

"Coffee?" she asked making her way to the pot on the counter.

"Yeah, sure." Michael replied taking a seat on the bar stool.

She handed him his mug and took a seat across from him.

He awkwardly thanked her and took a sip.

They sat in silence neither knowing how to start.

"Sara I..." Michael started ready to plead his case when they were suddenly interrupted by the door opening.

"Hey sweetheart." John said walking in and placing a kiss on Sara's forehead.

"Hi." she said quickly looking back at Michael who looked like he was about ready to puke.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize you had company." he replied extending his hand to Michael "Nice to meet you I'm John."

Michael took his hand and shook it "Michael."

"I used to know Michael in college." Sara lied "He was in town and decided to stop by."

"Really?" John asked looking over at Michael.

She looked at him silently pleading to go along with her story.

"Yeah..." Michael replied "I'm in town visiting a friend and decided to come over and catch up with Sara."

"That's nice." John said smiling.

"Michael was just leaving so..." Sara said standing up.

"Well why don't you stay for dinner?" John asked.

"I couldn't..." Michael replied.

"Oh come on, I never get to meet any of Sara's friends."

"John, Michael doesn't want to stay for our rehearsal dinner." Sara tried to persuade him.

"She's right; I don't want to be any trouble." Michael agreed.

"No trouble. The more the merrier. What do you say Mike?" John asked putting his arm around Sara.

That was all the motivation Michael needed.

"Sure."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"To the bride and groom to be." the best man said as he raised his glass.

"To the bride and groom." everyone repeated.

"So Michael, where are you staying?" John asked settling back into his seat.

"The Denmark over by the airport." Michael replied.

"I love that place. That's actually where we're having the reception after the wedding."

"What is it that you do?" Michael asked eager to get off the wedding topic.

"I'm an architect," John stated proudly.

"Any family?" Michael continued his interrogations.

"Well my mom died when I was young and my Dad split before I was born. I have an older brother though and he pretty much took care of me growing up."

Michael nodded at his response a little surprised at their similarities.

He felt himself become more and more jealous as he watched John and Sara. The man was so close he was practically sitting on her lap.

Sara gazed down at her plate. She couldn't bring herself to even look at him. She could feel Michael becoming more and more tense as John moved closer and put his arm around her. John leaned in and kissed her neck. She shook him off and looked up at Michael.

She could see the anger, jealousy, sadness, and hurt all in his eyes and it killed her to know she had caused it, especially when she wished it were him next to her instead of John. He finally looked away from her and back down at his own plate.

There were only five people in there but Michael suddenly felt the room become overcrowded and couldn't breathe.

"Thank you for dinner..." he said getting up from his chair "I have an early day tomorrow so I should get going."

"Alright thanks for coming." John said getting up to shake his hand.

Michael nodded and quickly left the room eager to get out.

Sara could feel her heart sink in her chest as Michael left the room. He didn't so much as glance her way as he bolted out the door. She knew she couldn't just leave things like this.

"Nice guy." John said sitting back down.

"I'm going to say goodbye." Sara said getting up and rushing out the door behind him.

Michael leaned against the side of his car taking in the much needed fresh air.

He was opening his car door when he heard a voice behind him.

"Michael wait!" Sara yelled running out to his car.

He didn't answer her; he just stood facing the opposite direction.

"You don't have to leave." Sara said softly behind him.

"I can't stand seeing him with you." Michael said not turning around.

"What was I supposed to do Michael?" Sara yelled "Wait around for you forever."

"Why didn't you come to me?" he yelled slamming his car door shut and spinning around to face her.

When she didn't respond he continued.

"Don't tell me you couldn't figure the birds out. We both know you could."

"I wasn't about to run off into the sunset with the man who lied to me."

"So instead you chose to go and marry John." Michael fumed.

"Are you telling me that you haven't found someone? That you haven't been trying to move on? Come on Michael I find that pretty hard to believe."

"I waited for you!" Michael screamed.

He saw the shock on Sara's face and when she didn't answer he continued.

"I waited for you for a year. I stood by the door everyday and waited for you to come through it." he said softer as he looked down at his feet "But you never did."

Sara stood there in silence not quite knowing what to say. She knew if she didn't say something she was going to lose him forever.

Just as she opened her mouth to answer Michael climbed in the car and drove away leaving her there alone and confused.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sara

Sara paced around her office nervously thinking about the events that had happened last night.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the small knock on her office door.

"Come in." She said holding her breath.

"Hey! I just got your message. What's up?" Her best friend Heather asked.

Sara let out her breath a little disappointed that it was Heather and not Michael there to come and sweep her off her feet.

"I just needed to talk," Sara admitted sitting down.

"What about?" Heather asked.

"About Michael."

"You mean that guy at dinner last night? The guy you went to college with. What about him?"

"That was Michael Scofield." Sara admitted embarrassed "We lied so John wouldn't find out."

"Oh...okay?" Heather replied a little dumbfounded.

"I just don't know what to do. I mean all this time I thought that he was somewhere in Panama with a wife and kids not even thinking about me. But then last night he tells me that he hasn't so much as even dated. That he's been waiting for me this whole time." Sara blurted out.

"Whoa." Heather said trying to process all of the information "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. John is a great guy...but Michael is...well he's Michael." Sara said, a small smile coming to her face.

"Well whatever it is you better figure it out quick. You're getting married in three days."

Sara nodded in agreement. She knew her friend was right, she needed to figure what or rather who she wanted and there was only one way to figure that out.

Michael

Michael lay in the bed of his hotel room staring at the ceiling replaying the conversation he and Sara had had the night before.

He silently cursed himself for being so stupid and irrational. He had dumped his feeling out for her and she had given him the impression that she didn't feel the same way.

"Maybe I should just give up." Michael whispered to himself "I'm fighting a losing battle and I should just throw in the flag."

He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything else. But no matter how hard he tried his mind kept drifting back to the one thing he cared most about in the world. Sara.

He bolted upright as a plan formulated in his mind. He was not about to give up without a fight. He had traveled over three thousand miles to get he back and nothing was going to stop him from doing so.

Getting dressed he hurried out the room and headed towards the elevator.

Sara

Running through the pouring rain Sara was relieved when she had finally reached the entrance.

"Welcome to the Denmark Hotel Ma'Am." the friendly doorman greeted as he opened the door for her.

"Thank you." she replied kindly enough as she stepped through and entered the lobby.

She shook out her umbrella and walked further into the widely spread area and headed to the front desk.

"Welcome to the Denmark Hotel Ma'am. How may I help you?" the kind receptionist asked.

"Yes, I have a friend staying here and I was just wondering if you could tell me what room he's in?"

"Name?"

"Um...Michael Scofield." Sara replied nervously as she started having second thoughts.

"Room 312."

Sara thanked her and turned around making her way to the elevator.

Michael

After what seemed like a life time. Michael stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby.

He was getting more and more nervous by the second at the prospect of confronting Sara again. He looked down at his shoes going over the carefully thought out plan in his head once again.

The elevator let out a small ding signaling the arrival of his destination.

The doors opened and he looked up to see Sara standing in front of him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Sara?" Michael said a little confused.

"Hi." she said with a small smile.

Michael stepped out of the elevator. "What are you doing here?"

Sara looked around her nervously hoping no one that she knew would see her.

Without a word she pulled Michael to a small corner of the lobby where no one could see them.

"I couldn't leave things like we did last night." she admitted.

"Yeah," Michael responded "I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have..."

"Michael you don't have to apologize for being honest. That's not why I came." Sara interrupted.

Michael smiled "Why did you come?"

"I had to find out why you came back. We never really got to talk."

"I umm I came to stop you from getting married." Michael stammered.

"You what?" Sara asked feeling her anger start to boil.

"I came to stop your wedding." Michael repeated "I wasn't about to let you get married to someone that wasn't me."

"What right do you have to tell me who I can and can't marry?"

"Oh come on Sara. Are you really telling me that you were going to be happy with that?"

"Yes." Sara replied.

"You're settling and you know it." Michael stated.

"No I'm not."

"Please. John is practically my clone. If you weren't you wouldn't be walking down that aisle unless it was me you were marrying."

Sara shook her head angrily "And what makes you think we should be together?"

"Because..." Michael stammered.

"Because what!" Sara asked impatiently.

"Because I love you." he replied.

Sara's mouth hung open in shock.

"Sara?" Michael said coming closer and putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I-I can't deal with this right now." Sara said shaking him off and rushing out the door.

"Sara, wait!" Michael yelled running out the door after her.

He looked around in the blinding rain trying to find her. He finally saw her walking around the side of the building and ran to catch up with her.

"Sara please wait." he said reaching out to stop her.

"Why Michael?" she asked turning around to face him.

"Why what?" he asked innocently.

"Why are you doing this now after all this time?" she asked as a small tear rolled down her cheek.

"Because I love you."

"Why? Why do you love me?"

"What do you mean why?" he asked baffled by her question.

"There's got to be a reason and I don't see what that reason is." she yelled through the rain.

Michael tried to think of something to say but his mind drew a blank.

"That's what I thought." she said coldly when he didn't answer her.

She turned and started to walk away when she heard his voice behind her.

"I love your smile..." he yelled "That beautiful smile that can make anyone's heart melt."

She turned around to face him as he continued "I love your hair, and the way it glows in the sunlight and how it always smells like roses. I love your laugh and your stubbornness. I love how my stomach flips when your skin touches mine." he said reaching out and grasping her hand in his "Or how my heart skips a beat when I look into your eyes. But most of all I love your heart, because I think it's amazing how you can still care about someone even when they don't deserve it. And because we're both gonna get Pneumonia standing out here like this." he laughed while gesturing to the falling rain around them. "But if you need to hear why I love you...I can go on all night."

Sara smiled and looked down at their intertwined hands. It was time to stop pretending and admit how she felt.

"Michael I..." Sara started but was interrupted by someone coming up behind them.

"Michael...Michael." a girl yelled approaching them.

Sara looked quickly up at Michael as his eyes got huge.

"Hey. What are you doing out here in the pouring rain?" the girl asked pulling the umbrella over his head.

Michael looked nervously over at Sara who seemed confused.

"Sara this is umm..." he stammered.

"Emily Hanson." Emily said as she tucked her arm under his "Michael's girlfriend."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Oh God Sara, no." Michael said quickly untangling Emily's arm from his.

Sara felt her cheeks redden from anger and embarrassment as she turned and walked away.

"Michael, where are you going?" Emily asked grabbing his hand back as he tried to go after Sara.

"Let me go." he demanded prying her hand off his.

He turned around to find Sara no where in sight.

"Emily! What the hell..." Michael yelled spinning to face her.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to see my boyfriend." she replied with a smile.

"Great! Where is he?" he yelled frustrated.

"That's you silly." she replied obviously not getting what he was trying to say.

Michael buried his face in his hands in pure frustration. He couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips at the girls' hard headedness.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"I'm not your boyfriend." he yelled harshly.

"I don't get it." she replied.

"I...am...NOT...your...BOYFRIEND." he repeated a bit slower for her.

"But we're dating."

"We went on one date and it was the worst night of my LIFE!"

"And you think you can find better?" she asked becoming enraged.

"Yes, I have and that was her!" he said motioning towards the direction where Sara had disappeared.

"Fine! But don't come crying back to me when you realize what you're missing."

She turned around and left leaving Michael alone in the rain.

Sara

"Here you go." Heather said handing Sara the warm cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Sara replied with a weak smile.

"Your still shivering do you need another blanket?"

"No, I'm fine." Sara replied pulling the blanket tighter around her still wet clothes.

"Are you sure because I could..."

"Really, I'm fine. I think I just wanna be alone right now." Sara interrupted her.

"Okay promise me you'll call if you need anything."

"I promise." Sara replied getting up and making her way to the front door.

"Thanks again." Sara said opening the door.

"Anytime."

It was nearly midnight by the time Sara had finally made it back to her house.

She walked up to her porch to find Michael sleeping soundly on her front steps.

So she did the only rational thing a person in her situation would do. She walked around to the side of her house to the small ground box hidden behind a bush.

She opened it and without a moment's hesitation flipped on the small switch activating the sprinklers.

"What the..." Michael yelled. He looked up to see a very angry Sara standing above him.

"Sara... please jus...just hold on a sec. It wasn't what it looked like." he stammered as he jumped up from his position.

"Get out of my way Michael." she interrupted.

"Not until you give me a chance to explain." he said not budging from his position.

Sara felt her angry start to boil over even more.

"A chance to explain?!" she yelled "Explain what? Explain how you came down here to stop my wedding and feed me a bunch of bull about how you're in love me when you have a girlfriend! But I guess I shouldn't be surprised should I? After all it's not like it's the first time this has happened. Classic Michael Scofield. You just can't be happy unless you're screwing up my life. Well this time I won't let you."

"Sara, Emily isn't..." Michael started to explain but was cut off by Sara.

"No Michael, I don't want to hear it. Save your lies for someone else." she said pushing her way past him and retreating into the safety of her house.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Thursday

3 days until wedding

Sara

"Sara...Sara?!" Heather yelled waving her hand in front of her friends face.

"What! I'm sorry I must've spaced out. What'd you say?" Sara asked.

"What do you think about this one?" Heather repeated holding up the floral arrangement.

"Yeah sure... that's fine." Sara replied absently.

"Sara are you sure you're okay?" her friend asked concerned.

Sara knew she wasn't fine. It had been two days since her fight with Michael and she hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. It was like her body was on auto-pilot and she was just off watching as she threw her life away planning a wedding to a man she didn't love.

"Yeah, what makes you think something's wrong?" she lied.

"Nothing it's just the past few days you've been off in your own little world. Ever since you had that fight with Scofield..."

"This has nothing to do with him." Sara cut her off.

"Are sure you because..."

"Heather, can we please just drop this?" Sara yelled angrily.

"Sure..." she caved in.

"I'm sorry... I'm not feeling well right now, I think I'm going to go home and get some rest."

"Okay, I'll call you later." Heather called to her as she rushed out of the door.

Michael

Michael sat on the edge of his bed. It had been two days since the incident with Sara but it felt like two years. God he missed her so much! He would give anything just to talk to her, touch her, or even just see her one last time. But he knew that would never happen. She had made it pretty clear she never wanted to see him again and that she had every intention of marrying that guy on Sunday. He buried his face deep inside his hands hoping it was all just a horrible nightmare. His thoughts were soon interrupted by the vibrating of his phone on the bedspread next to him.

"Hello?" Michael answered.

"Michael, its Linc. I got your message, what's going on?" Lincoln voice replied on the other end.

"Well I thought you might like to know your getting your brother back."

"What are you talking about?" Lincoln asked clueless.

"I'm coming home."

"What?! Why?"

"Things didn't work out." Michael answered as he pulled the shirts from his closet and neatly placed them in his suitcase.

"What do you mean things didn't work out!?"

"It's a long story I'll tell you when I get home."

"Well forget about it, I don't care. We don't want you back."

"Thanks, I love you too bro." Michael scoffed as he continued his packing.

"I mean it Michael don't get on that plane unless Sara's with you."

"That's not gonna happen."

"So that's it? The great Michael Scofield has finally given up?"

"Linc, it's not that simple..." Michael started to explain but was cut off by the knock on his door.

"Linc, I'll have to call you back someone's at the door."

"Fine, but don't think this conversation is over." Lincoln replied angrily.

Michael flipped his phone closed and made his way to the door.

"What are you doing here?" Michael asked as he opened the door to someone he definitely wasn't expecting.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Michael

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" his visitor asked from the other side of the door.

"Sure." he complied opening the door wider for her to come in.

Michael had met Heather at Sara's rehearsal dinner. He knew she was the maid of honor and Sara's best friend but what he didn't know is why she was here to see him.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out picking up your dress for the big day?" Michael asked.

"I'm here because I'm worried about Sara." she confessed.

"Well then why don't you go talk to her fiancée?" he asked bitterly.

"Because you're the one she wants to be with."

"Really? And what makes you think that?"

"Ever since that thing with you the other night she's hasn't been the same. And even though she would probably never admit it; I know it's you she loves and not John."

"Yeah well she has a pretty weird way of showing it."

It was then that Heather got a good look over his shoulder and noticed his suitcase.

"Wait you're leaving?" She asked.

"My flight leaves tomorrow morning."

"So you're just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"Look, I told her how I felt and she didn't feel the same way."

"Yeah only because your girlfriend showed up." Heather reminded him.

"She's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND. I told Sara that and she didn't believe me."

"You know what; it's really none of my business. If you want to leave then go. But if you change your mind let me know." she said slipping a piece of paper with her number on it on his desk.

Without another word she turned around and left.

_the next morning_

"Hello?" Michael answered his phone.

"Mr. Scofield, this is the front desk, your cab is here to take you to the airport." the voice on the other end replied.

"Okay, I'm on my way down."

He hung up the phone and picked up his suitcase. He had been up all night thinking about what Heather had told him and debating on whether or not to go after Sara. But he was tired of being the savior, always being the one to save the day, and always ending up getting hurt because of it. But not today, not this time.

If it were true what Heather had said then Sara would have to be the one to fix things this time. If she wanted him back then she would have to be the one to find him and talk him into staying.

He walked over to the desk in the corner of the room. He saw Heathers' number and once again thought about whether or not he was making the right decision. But there was no talking him out of this one. He crinkled the slip of paper in his hand and tossed it in the trash can as he made his way out the door.

Sara

"That's perfect." Heather told the seamstress as she finished adjusting Sara's wedding gown.

"Do you really think so?" Sara asked twirling around in front of the mirrors.

"You look beautiful." Heather said checking her watch. "I have to go see about my dress and I'll be right back."

Once alone Sara consulted the four mirrors in front of her, checking to make sure every inch was perfect.

"I think we look pretty good." Sara told her reflection.

"In just two days I'll be Mrs. John Ferris." Sara crinkled her nose at the thought. "Sara Ferris. Dr. Sara Ferris." she repeated hoping if she said it enough her new name would start to sound appealing.

"Mrs. Ferris, Dr. Ferris." Nothing this just wasn't working. "Sara Scofield, Dr. Scofield." God she loved the sound of that.

Realizing what she was doing she silently cursed herself for being so stupid. It was never going to happen and she needed to focus on other things than Michael Scofield.

She heard a knock on the door and was grateful for the distraction from her thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly and in stepped the problem itself.

"Michael?"


	11. Flashback

Chapter 11

Michael sat down in the chair of the terminal. His flight had been delayed for an hour so he was stuck waiting there until it was time to board.

His exhaustion had finally caught up with him from not sleeping the previous night.

"What could twenty minutes hurt?" he whispered to himself leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

It had to be the most uncomfortable chair in the world but nevertheless he managed to fall asleep.

_Michael looked around the familiar scenery around him. He was back at the beach where his mother would take him and Linc every Sunday until the day she died. _

_"Hey stranger." a familiar voice came from behind him. _

_"Mom?" he asked confused as she sat in the sand next to him. _

_She confirmed with a nod and motioned to the blanket next to her "Sit down Michael." _

_He did as he was told and sat next to his mother. "How...I mean what are doing here?" _

_"You're dreaming honey." _

_"But if I'm dreaming then how do I know that I'm dreaming? And if I'm dreaming while knowing that I'm dreaming why am I still dreaming? And..." _

_"Calm down Michael!" she giggled "Don't think about it, it'll just give you a big headache." _

_"Right, sorry." he blushed a little "I'm just really happy to see you. Especially after..." Michael trailed off not wanting to rehash the horror of the past couple of days. _

_"I know. That's what I'm here to talk to you about." _

_"What do mean?" Michael asked still pretty confused. _

_"Sara." _

_Michael looked down still a little sore about the subject. _

_"Michael, why are you running away?" _

_"I'm not running away from anything mom. She doesn't want to be with me, because she doesn't love me." _

_"So that means that you're just going to leave without so much as a goodbye?" _

_Michael rolled his eyes "Not you too mom. Linc already lectured me about it." _

_"Maybe your brothers' right. You shouldn't walk out on love. What have I always told you and Linc growing up?" _

_"That true love exists, and if you find it you should hold onto it and never let it go. I understand that I really do but Sara just doesn't love me." _

_"Well, if you gave her a chance maybe she would tell you that she feels the same way. You just need to give her a chance to tell you." _

_Before Michael could open up his mouth to object he saw someone walking down the beach. He could barely make out the figure walking toward them and strained to see. _

_"Is that?" _

_"Yes, its Sara." his mother confirmed for him. _

_"What is she doing here? And... Is she crying?" _

_"This was about a year ago on the day you asked her to leave the door open for you. She's crying because she knows you used her and because she fell in love with you but knew those feelings weren't reciprocated." _

_Michael's heart wretched in his stomach. If it's one thing he couldn't stand to see it was Sara crying. _

_"But I did love her back." Michael said tears coming to his own eyes. _

_"I know that, and you know that, but she doesn't. She thought it was all just a game of manipulation. But in the end the battle between her head and her heart, her heart won. She decided that the love she felt for you was more important than any consequences." _

_She looked over to see tears flowing down Michael's cheeks as he kept his gaze focused on Sara. _

_"Now it's time to show that same faith. Tell her you love her and..." _

_"No, no I can't." Michael said shaking his head "I won't hurt her again. She doesn't deserve that after all I've put her through. I mean look at her. She's crying because of me I did that to her. She deserves to be happy and I'm not the person who's going to make her that way." _

_"Michael, I know you're scared. I know that you don't want to hurt her. That you're scared if you do open up it will also hurt you if she turns you down. But that shouldn't stop you from trying. She's not happy with the guy she's with. He won't make her happy you're the only person you can do that. You owe her the choice." _

_"What if she doesn't feel the same way?" _

_"Then it'll be okay." she said placing a delicate hand on his shoulder "Love is never an easy thing. Sometimes you just have to have a little faith." _

"Now boarding flight 102 to Panama." Michael was jolted awake by the airport intercom.

He got up and followed the rest of the eager passengers to the boarding gate. He was so lost in his own thought that he didn't even notice when the fight attendant asked for his ticket.

"Sir? Your boarding pass please."

He reached for his boarding pass as his mothers voice sounded off in his head _"Just have a little faith." _

"You just have to have a little faith and everything will be okay." he hadn't realized he had said that out loud.

"Excuse me?" the stewardess asked confused by his little outburst.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

Michael ran as fast as he could through the terminal. He knew he had to find Sara. He would call her friend Heather and...

"Crap." he said as a thought came to mind. Back at the motel he had thrown her number away and knew it was long gone by now.

He closed his eyes and slowly replayed the memory in his mind. There. He remembered briefly looking at her number before disposing of it. He grabbed a pin and jotted down her number.

He pulled out his cell phone and made the call that would take him one step closer to getting Sara back.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Michael, what are you doing here?" Sara asked.

"To tell you the truth Sara I really don't know. I mean you made it pretty clear you never what to see me again..."

"Michael..."

"Sara, please just let me finish and then you can yell at me or whatever."

Sara nodded in agreement and he stepped further in the room.

"Alright so I was at the airport and I was ready to leave and forget about this whole mess. But just as I was about to board the plane I just realized that I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye and telling you how I really feel. I know what happened the other day was horrible timing and I never meant to hurt you like that, but Sara you have to believe me when I say that Emily means nothing to me. Lincoln fixed me up on one date with her but that was it. I thought that I could forget about you and move on with my life but the more I tried the more I realized that your it for me. I love you. I don't know how else to say it but I love you Sara.

He looked at her trying to read her face to see what she was thinking.

"Are you finished?" she asked not giving away anything.

"Yes." he answered looking down at his hands.

"Good, because I love you too."

He looked up to meet her eyes to see her smiling.

"Wh...What?" he asked surprised but confused.

"I said I love you Michael. I always have."

Michael just stood there. He didn't plan on this. He didn't really think this would happen.

Seeing his confusion Sara let out a small laugh.

"Michael," she said cupping his face in her hands "This is the part where you're supposed to kiss me."

He smiled closing the distance between them and pressing his lips delicately to hers.

All the tension, attraction, and love that they had held in for the last year came pouring out into the single kiss. It was in that one kiss that they felt their connection come alive again.

Michael pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers trying to catch his breath again.

"Can ask you a question?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Why in the world did you turn the sprinklers on me the other day?"

"It was a term of affection?" she offered, giving him a small kiss.

"Really?"

"Umm hum." she replied bringing his lips back down to hers.

They were interrupted by a small knock on the door.

"Sara is everything alright in there?" the tailor called from the other side.

"Uh, yeah just a minute."

She turned back to Michael "You have to go. Can we talk later tonight?"

"Yeah. When?"

"8 o'clock at your hotel?"

"Alright." he replied giving her one last kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

He was at the door when he stopped and turned around. "Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"You look really beautiful." he said pointing to her dress.

"Thank you." she said giving him one last smile before he disappeared.

Sara sighed to herself. This was the first time she had been truly happy in over a year. She had finally told Michael she loved him and he had felt the same way. Now all she had to do was tell John the wedding was off than she and Michael could finally be together.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sara

Sara finally made it home after another exhausting hour of finalizing plans for a wedding she had no intention of going through with. She unlocked her front door and stepped into her dark living room. She flicked on the light switch jumped when she noticed someone sitting on the couch.

"Oh my God John you scared me to death." she said when noticed it was him.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." he said not getting up from his position.

"What are you doing sitting here in the dark?"

"Nothing really I was just thinking about stuff."

"Like what?" she asked seeing the serious look on his face.

"Like our wedding on Sunday."

Her heart sank at the mention of their wedding. John was a really great guy and she didn't want to hurt him but she knew it wouldn't be fair to either of them if they were to go through with it.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to talk to you about that too." she said taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"Okay you first."

"Alright there's really no easy way to say this but um... there's someone else. I'm really sorry but I can't marry you John." she said taking off her engagement ring and holding it out to him.

Sara looked at John's face looking for any kind of reaction and was surprised to see that he wasn't upset. She was further surprised when he started laughing.

"Is something funny." she asked a little taken back by his laughter.

Instead of answering her he got up and moved to his briefcase that was sitting next to the door. He opened it and removed a large envelope and walked back over to Sara.

Sara watched as he removed the photographs from inside and placed them upside down on the coffee table in front of her.

"What are those?" she asked confused.

"You're not calling off the wedding." he told her seriously.

"Excuse me?" she asked a little angry "What makes you think that you can tell me what I can and can not do?"

"Well for starters this..." he said roughly flipping the picture over revealing a candid shot of Lincoln on the beach."...and this..." he flipped over the other one to reveal LJ at school. "...and most of all this." he flipped over another to reveal Michael leaving the back entrance of the bridal shop earlier that afternoon.

"What are these?" she asked staring at the pictures in front of her.

"Insurance." he smirked.

"I...I don't understand."

"Alright maybe I should start at the beginning." he said pulling up a chair and sitting across from her.

"My real name is Mark Jacobs and I'm not an engineer…"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"I was born into a family of politicians. My father and his father before him were senators and growing up I was expected to become even more. From the age of four and onward I was constantly reminded of how I would become senator at the age of 21, become governor at 30, and then go on to become president. Then when I was about 17 my dad was indicted and sent to prison and with him went the family name. After that there was no chance of me ever going into politics, God knows I tried but after word got out about my father's business deals no one wanted anything to do with me or my family ever again."

"I still don't understand what this has anything to do with me." Sara said trying to keep her face from showing the fear she felt.

"Well after that I spent the next 15 years trying to figure out a way to restore the family name and secure myself the position of the head of this country. I thought I had exhausted all of my options then last year the whole Fox River escape happened. That is where you came into the picture, the governor's daughter; I knew if I married you then I would have my ticket back into office. So I created a fake name, and molded myself into the person I knew you would fall for. Everything was going right on schedule until Scofield showed up and screwed everything up." he explained his jaw tightening at the mention of Michael's name.

"But my fathers dead, and I'm an ex junkie, if anything that would just make things worse."

"True, but everyone loved your dad, and if it weren't for his death he would have made it all the way to the top. As far as your junkie days go, your dad had that all buried, it's like it never even existed."

"And what happens if I choose not to marry you? What happens then? It's not like you can kill me, you said yourself I was your only option left." she smirked.

"Because if you don't, your boyfriend and his family will be joining your father."

The smile on Sara's face faded as she looked down at the pictures in front of her "What do you want me to do?" she asked in a whisper.

"Get rid of him. Make him go back to Panama and never come back. We'll postpone the wedding for a couple of weeks while you sort this mess out."

She nodded her head slowly as he got out of his chair and walked towards the front door.

"Oh, and Sara..." he turned back to look at her one last time.

She looked up at him as he continued "Don't try anything cute. If I see anyone snooping around or even so much as even see his face ever again... he's dead."

She nodded her head in agreement as he walked out the door closing it behind him.

Sara collapsed onto the couch and let the tears she had been trying so hard to hold in, fall down her cheeks. She closed her eyes praying that this was all just a horrible nightmare that she would wake up from. She opened her eyes and looked over at the clock mounted on the wall, 6 o'clock; she would have to meet Michael in two hours.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Michael**

Michael checked his watch for the tenth time but it was still 6:00 and he still had two hours until Sara got there. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been this happy before. He had waited for this day for so long, the day when he and Sara would finally be on the same page, the day when there would be no lies, secrets, or even anger to keep them apart.

He looked back down at his watch, 6:01.

'Okay, this has to stop.' he tought to himself as he sunk onto his bed and put his head in his hands.

Then a light seemed to click on inside his head. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. There was something he needed to pick up before Sara's arrival.

**Sara**

Sara stood staring blankly at the door in front of her. Behind that door Michael was waiting for her, waiting for her to tell him that she loved him, and waiting for her to runaway to Panama with him.

'Oh God I can't do this.' she thought to herself.

**Michael**

Michael took a deep breath after consulting his watch one more time. It was 7:01; she should've been there by now. He pulled the small box from his pocket and opened it up. Inside sat the simple yet still elegant engagement ring. Sure it might be a little soon considering she just broke it off with the other guy, but he didn't care. This is what he had wanted since the first day he had seen her.

He heard a small noise outside his door and went to the peephole to see who it was. Sara stood outside staring at the door. He quickly tucked the ring inside his pocket and opened the door.

**Sara**

'Okay, I can't do this. Maybe if I just leave...'

Sara's thoughts were interrupted when the door suddenly opened and Michael appeared in the doorway.

"Sara?" he asked when she didn't respond to his presence.

"Hey." she said coming back to reality.

"Hi." he returned flashing a smile.

He pulled her to him wrapping his arms around her.

"I missed you." he said whispered into her ear.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she let as she let out a small laugh "I've only been gone a few hours."

"I know, but it felt like years." he said pulling her tighter against him "I love you so much."

Sara squeezed her eyes shut letting his words sink in knowing this would probably be the last time she heard him say that. She buried her face in his neck reveling in the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

'I can't do this. I can't, I won't do this to him.' she tought to herself. But she knew she had to. If she didn't he would be killed because of her and she couldn't live with herself if anything happened to him. No, she had to put on a brave face and tell him that she never wanted to see him again.

He kissed the side of her head; relinquishing his hold on her.

"Sara? Are you okay?" he asked pulling back to look at her.

"Yeah. I'm fine." she replied giving him a small smile.

"No you're not. You're shaking, and have you been crying?" he gently wiped the away the tear streak on her face.

"Michael, please don't do this." she pleaded.

"Do what? Sara, tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is we can figure it out together."

"No, we can't." she said turning away, unable to look at him anymore.

"Sara, I don't understand. What's going on?"

When she didn't reply he continued "Sara, please just talk to me." he turned her around to face him.

"Michael..." she trailed off.

"Yeah." he gave her a reassuring smile and gently ran his hand up and down her arm.

'Here it goes.' she told herself taking in a deep breath.

"Michael, I've done a lot of thinking this afternoon. And what it's made me realize is that... you're not the one I want to be with."

"I'm sorry? I think I just spaced out. What did you just say?"

"I want to be with John, not you." she repeated coldly.

She watched as the light faded from his eyes and the color drained from his face.

He took a step back from her unable to look at her anymore.

"I um...um... what changed?" he asked with his back to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this morning everything was great. You said you loved me and wanted to be with me and now, now you're telling me you don't."

"Yeah well things change. This morning was a mistake and should have never happened because I don't love you."

He turned around quickly at this and was now staring at her "You don't mean that."

"I do."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked running his hands over his head. "Is this about John? Did he do something?"

"What? No? Of course not!" she lied.

"Whatever he said, whatever he did to make you say this..."

"This has nothing to do with John. This about me. Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because you don't just love somebody one minute and then the next decide you don't."

"Michael..."

"I mean look at you. You can't even look me in the eye for more than two seconds."

"What's it going to take to get you to believe me?"

"Just one thing..." he says before bring her lips to his putting all the passion and love he has in his body into that one kiss.

She kisses him back feeling the fireworks erupt throughout her whole body. But the kiss is over to soon as he pulls back and looks at her cupping her face in his hands.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't feel that. Tell me that you honestly don't love me. If you can do that then I will leave and won't come back."

She knew she had to do this. Because she loved him she had to tell him she didn't.

"I don't love you."

He let go of her and she turned away and headed towards the door.

"Sara." he said with his back to her so she wouldn't see the tears flowing down his cheeks. "I'll always love you. Even if you don't."

Not being able to take anymore, Sara rushed out the door before he could see her own tears.

Once he heard the door click shut Michael sank to the floor with his back to the dresser. He pulled out the small velvet box from his pocket and opened it to find the ring still nestled safely inside. He closed it not able to look at it anymore as he threw it across the room where it landed with a dull thud by the door.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**Sara**

Sara walked through the front door of her house. She was so exhausted all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and finally put an end to this horrible day.

She walked into her bedroom and her eyes immediately fell upon Michael who was tied to a chair in the center of the room.

"Michael!" she said running to his side and removing the gag in his mouth "What are you doing here?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Sara." said a familiar voice behind her.

She turned around to see Mark standing in the doorway.

"Mark let him go." she yelled angrily as he stepped further into the room.

"I warned you Sara. I warned you that if you told anyone that there would be consequences."

"I didn't tell him anything. I did as you asked, I told him to leave."

Mark pinned her to the wall, wrapping his hand around her neck.

"Don't. Lie to me. He came here looking for you." he yelled.

Sara struggled to catch her breath under his hold. He loosened his grip a bit giving her enough air to respond.

"Mark, I swear I didn't say anything to him. Please don't do this." she said as tears ran down her cheeks.

He tightened his grip one last time before forcefully throwing her to the floor.

He stepped back and pulled a gun from his back pocket and aimed at Michael's head. Sara looked over at Michael who stared up at Mark before lowering his gaze down to her.

"You did this to him." he said as he pulled the trigger.

"Michael!" Sara screamed shaking awake from the horrible nightmare.

She looked around at the dark bedroom. No Mark, no Michael, just an empty room.

"It was just a dream." she kept telling herself "It was just a dream."

The Next Morning

Sara put down the paper she had been reading when she heard the lock turn in the front door. A short while later Mark stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning sweetheart." he said with a smile when he saw her.

"Ugh." was her only reply as she picked up the paper and pretended to read it.

"There's that winning Tancredi personality that I love so much." he said sitting in the chair across from her.

"And let me be the first to congratulate you on your Oscar winning performance last night." he said applauding "I didn't think you had it in you. It seems Mr.Scofield hopped on the first plane back to Panama this morning. You must've done a real number on him..."

"Mark, if you don't mind I don't really feel like playing house this morning." she interrupted him not wanting to hear anything else he had to say.

"Alright. I'll be back here at 3:00 to pick you up for the appointment with the caterers." he said getting up from the table and kissing her on the cheek.

"Looking forward to it." she said sarcastically scrubbing her cheek.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

**3 Days Later**

**Sara**

The past three days had been mind-numbingly exhausting for Sara. Each day she had to put on a happy face and make wedding arrangements. Mark had kept a close eye on her making sure she was behaving at all times and doing nothing to jeopardize his plans for their future. She was really getting tired of playing games and wasn't looking forward to spending the rest of her life this way.

She strolled through the cemetery and stopped when she found what she was there for. Today was the one year anniversary of her dad's death. She knelt down and looked at his tombstone. Even though they had never had a model relationship she still wished he were there. Maybe he would know what to do about Mark.

"He really was a good man. Even if he didn't always show it." a familiar voice spoke from behind her.

"Yeah. Do you still miss him?"

"Sometimes. How about you?"

"Sometimes."

She turned around to see Bruce sitting on the small bench near her Father's grave.

"So how have things been lately?" he asked as she took up residence beside him. "I heard you're getting married."

"Yeah." she said looking down at her feet.

"Is something wrong?" he asked noticing she was upset.

"Why would there be something wrong? Everything is great." she replied giving a fake smile.

"You know your Dad was always like a brother to me. He always had my back when I needed him. I'd like to think I could show that same courtesy to his daughter."

"Thank you Bruce but I'll be alright."

"Okay if you say so." he said getting up "Promise me you'll call if you do need my help?" he said handing her his card.

"I promise."

She looked down at the card in her hands. She did need help. Michael was gone for good and if there was any chance she had at stopping Mark and being with Michael she was going to need help.

"Bruce!" she yelled as she ran up to catch up with him.

He stopped and looked at her.

"I need your help."

**Michael**

Michael lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. When he got home he was bombarded with questions from Linc and LJ. He had only told them that things hadn't worked out and was glad when they didn't press the issue. But since being home he couldn't stop the nagging feeling that something was wrong. He had done all he could to ignore it but it only got stronger.

He knew the feeling was about Sara, that there was something wrong with her. But he refused to even think about acting upon it. This time he wasn't going to do anything. If there was something wrong then that was Mark's problem now. It wasn't his job to rescue her anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**Sara**

Bruce walked into the room and set a file in front of Sara as he took the seat across from her.

"So what'd you find out?" Sara asked nervously looking expectantly at the older man across from her.

"Well the good news is his real name is really Mark Jacobs so we were able to dig up a lot of information about him to help us out..."

"But... What's the bad news?" She asked feeling his hesitancy.

"You're not the first."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this has happened before. There were...others." he replied not quite sure how to put it.

"How many?"

"Five."

Sara closed her eyes and swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"What happened to them?" she asked staring at the table.

"Sara, it's really not important..."

"What happened." she interrupted. "I want to know."

"They're dead." he said pulling out the contents of the folder.

He laid out five pictures of the women and placed them in front of her. Sara placed her hand over her mouth as she thought of the monster that could have done such a thing.

"They shared only one thing in common. They were daughters of dead ex governors and senators."

"Why haven't they arrested him if they know he did this?" she angrily.

"Well... just like you, with each new girl came a new name and appearance. Police had they're suspicions but nothing solid with which to hold him on. The only thing that we haven't been able to figure out is why he is doing it." Bruce explained slumping back into his chair.

They sat in silence until Sara finally spoke up. "His dad."

"What?"

"When he told me his real name he mentioned his dad. Something about him being a wrongfully endicted and sent to die in prison." Sara spoke up hoarsely.

"Hardly. His father, Phillip Jacobs, was rumored to be a mob boss who ran beneath the Flazone family. He was always trying to warm his way into the Senate seat so he could have a free run of the streets for he and his boys to conduct their business. Probably would have made it too if he hadn't been ratted out by an anonymous source."

Sara sat silently trying to digest all of this at once. What was she going to do now? What was to keep her from being next?

"Sara, I've arranged a safe house for you. You may be there for a while but it's the only option we have."

Sara looked down once again at the photographs on the table. She was silent a moment before she rose her head up to meet Bruce's concerned expression.

"No." she spoke up.

"What?" Bruce asked confused.

"I'm not going to a safe house."

"Sara..."

She held up her had to silence him as she continued. "I've made my decision. Someone very special to me once told me that you can't keep running away from your fears, you just have to open that door and face it and it would go away." Sara paused and swallowed another lump in her throat as the memories flooded through her.

"If I disappear what's to keep him from going after someone else? More innocent people could die if I walk away now. It may not have started with me but it's going to end with me."

Bruce shook his head silently before adding "Sara, I don't know if I can let you do this."

"I'm not asking for you're permission Bruce. I'm doing this with or without you." she said looking at him again. "But it would be a lot easier with you."

-----------------

Sara sat in the back of the van with Bruce as he and his team of three other guys prepped her for what they hoped would be a successful mission.

"Alright you're good to go. Are you sure you wanna do this?" Bruce asked as Sara buttoned up her shirt covering the wire taped to her stomach.

"Will you stop asking me that? I'm more than sure."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Have you come up with a plan yet as to what you'll say to get his confession?"

"Um... kinda." Sara replied finishing the last button.

"Kinda! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? You asking me to send you in there alone with a serial killer and you don't even have a plan?!"

Sara couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his outburst.

"Don't freak out on me Bruce. Just relax; I know what I'm doing."

"Alright, just remember to be careful and not let him touch you. We'll be listening in here so if you need any help just say the word and we'll storm the gates and get you out."

"How will you know if I need you? I can't just come out and say it or he'll know something's up."

"I guess we'll have a code phrase."

"Code phrase?"

"Yeah, if you need us to come in and get you you'll say a certain sentence and we'll know you need help. But it has to be something subtle so he won't catch on."

"Sounds good to me. What's the sentence?"

Bruce sat back and thought hard until he finally thought up a good one.

"Okay I got it. 'Pass the ketchup.'"

"What? You can't be serious." she replied with a laugh.

"I am so serious. Its perfect." he answered with an innocent grin on his face. "You got something better?"

"No that's fine. Who am I to argue with the experts?"

"We're ready sir." one of the agents spoke from the front seat.

Bruce nodded back in agreement and turned back to Sara.

"It's time. Are you ready?"

Sara sighed in response "It's now or never."

Sara discreetly slid out of the van and made her way across the street to her house. It was time to open the door and make the monster disappear.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Sara**

Sara closed the door behind her without locking it. She made her way into the kitchen where she found Mark sitting at the table reading the paper.

"Hey sweetheart." he greeted her without looking up from the article he was reading "The photographers called, we're meeting them at the church tomorrow to go over the layouts."

"Mark why don't we just cut the crap right now. We both know there's not going to be a wedding so lets stop pretending that there is." she said skipping straight to the point.

Mark put down his paper and looked at her. She could see his anger building with each passing second.

"If this is about Scofield again..."

"This has nothing to do with Michael." she interrupted wanting to leave him out of this "We both know that you have no intention of letting me even make it to the alter, just like those other girls."

"What are you talking about? What other girls?"

"We're both adults here, put you're cards on the table. There's no point in lying now."

Mark stared at her for a moment as if trying to tell whether or not she was bluffing.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"No? Well let's see. What do I know about Mark? What do I know about John, David, Rick..." she went on to list all of his previous aliases "Or Linda, Amy, Emily... should I continue or do you need to know all the names of the women you've killed?"

His eyes narrowed at her a second before getting up and walking over to stand in front of her next to the counter. She stared up at him not budging the slightest from her position in front of him.

"Congrats Sara, you figured it out. Why am I not surprised that you would?" he asked grabbing his mug next to her and making his way to the coffee maker.

"Why did you kill those girls?" Sara asked getting back on the subject.

"They deserved it." he stated simply taking a sip of his coffee.

Sara let out a bitter laugh "Nobody deserves to die."

"Oh but these girls did. Or rather their fathers did." he explained putting down his mug and walking closer to Sara.

"Do remember when I told you about my dad?" he waited until Sara nodded and continued "Well I didn't exactly tell you the whole truth. See my dad was one of the top...buisness men in a private company..."

"You mean the mob." Sara interrupted.

"Exactly. Fortunately no one had any evidence to tie him to the Flazone family, just theories. He was about to be called into office when an anonymous source provided evidence to support the claims. So my father was sent to jail and executed."

"What does any of this have to do with you murdering those girls?"

"Be patient, I'm getting there. During final visitation he told me there was one more thing he wanted me to do for him. He told me to find out who ratted him out and avenge him. So for the next 6 years I did nothing search for the person who killed him. I was eventually able to find the original call and trace it back to a cell phone. Imagine my surprise when I figured out that the call was not placed by a person but rather by a secret organization called the _'E Pluribus Unum.' _It was a group of made up of six senators and governors who took an oath to be the political protectors of America. Unfortunately they were already dead."

"So now as you can see I was at an impasse. How was I supposed to get my revenge if they were already dead? Most guys would have stopped there, thrown in the towel. Not me, I kept digging until I discovered that all of them had left behind a single daughter to succeed them. So I disguised myself as the perfect guy who swept them off their feet until I could get close enough to...well you know. So one by one I took all of them out until I was left with only one, Sara Tancredi, daughter of 'Frontier Justice Frank, the last member of the political protectors."

Mark edged in closer putting his hands on either side of the counter trapping her in as he did so.

"But you see you Sara took twice as long as the others. You were already in love with someone, someone who you were waiting for. So I waited a whole year for you to get over him and agree to marry me. I would of had you too if he wouldn't have shown up and screwed everything up." he said angrily as his grip tightened on the counter.

"So what now?" Sara asked. She had heard enough she was ready to get out of there. "Are we just going to continue to 'Pass the Ketchup' or what?"

"Pass the Ketchup? What the hell does that supposed to mean?"

"You know it's a... um a figure of speech for beat around the bush... or something like that." she explained nervously hoping Bruce and his guys would bust in any second now.

"Whatever. But now seeing as how you know too much, I'm forced to move up my schedule." he said turning away and picking up a knife.

He turned back around to face her. Sara looked around nervously. Oh God where was Bruce.

_Just a note - I was thinking about a possible sequel for this story. _


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Sara**

Sara grew more and more nervous with each step Mark took towards her. Bruce wasn't coming and she had to find something, anything to use to defend herself. Her eyes frantically scanned the room for something that she could use to her advantage.

**Bruce**

_5 minutes earlier_

Bruce listened as Mark unknowingly confessed to his involvement in the murder of five innocent young women.

"So what now?" he heard Sara's voice cut in. "Are we just going to continue to 'Pa..."

"What just happened?" Bruce yelled to his second in command next to him as the line went to static.

"I don't know we just lost her."

**Sara**

Sara spotted a pan resting by the sink directly behind Mark. It was her only choice. She turned her attention back on Mark and started working her way side ways in order to switch their positions.

"So what are you going to do after you kill me? I'm the last aren't I?" she asked hoping to distract him as they slowly turned in a circle.  
"I don't know." he said playing the tip of the blade. "Maybe I'll go to Panama, pay that boyfriend of yours a little visit after all. Teach him how rude it is to screw up other peoples plans. What'd you think?"

Sara's jaw tightened at the thought as her back bumped against the counter. Her hands discreetly roamed the surface looking for the pan. Instead her hands found the coffee mug he had abandoned just moments before.

"I'll tell where it is you can go Mark." she said smiling up at him.

"Oh and where would that be?" he questioned still oblivious to what she was doing.

"To Hell..." she said as she grabbed the mug and threw the boiling hot contents in his face.

Mark yelled out in pain as he tried to wipe the steamy liquid from his eyes. Sara scanned the counter still trying to locate the pan she had spotted earlier. Once she did she gripped it firmly and swung it around until it made contact with the side of Mark's head.

Mark doubled over in pain cupping the side of his head, but Sara wasn't done with him yet. She ran at him with full force tackling him to the ground and sending the knife flying into the air and onto the other side of the kitchen.

They rolled around on the kitchen floor, each fighting for control as they scurried to retrieve the knife. Although she put up a fight Mark, being twice her size, had finally managed to pin her to the floor as he reached over and picked the knife up once again.

**Bruce**

"Okay I think I got it." one of the agents called from the controls.

"It's about time." Bruce said as the sound cut back in and a scream resonated from the speakers.

"I want everyone up there now!" Bruce yelled as he jumped up and out of the truck, running to the apartment building across the street.

**Sara**

"That was a really stupid thing to do Sara. All you did was further tick me off." Mark growled through clinched teeth as he pressed the tip of the blade into the skin above her collarbone.

"SARA!!!" they heard someone scream as footsteps sounded off on the stairs outside the door.

"Don't think this is over Sara. I will find you, and when I do, it won't be pretty."

The door to Sara's apartment was kicked open as Bruce and his team swept inside. They made their way into the kitchen to find Sara still lying on the kitchen floor.

"Sara." Bruce said kneeling down next to her. "Are you okay? Where's Mark?"

"He's gone." she said pointing to the open window over her sink leading out to the fire escape.

-----------------------------

"Sara, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Bruce asked as he made his way to the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied giving him a small and reassuring smile "When do you think they'll catch him?"

"Well, we have men all over the city. He couldn't have gotten very far so it should only be a matter of hours now. But I'm going to keep a couple guards outside the door just in case."

"Okay." she nodded letting out a sigh of relief and turning her attention to the coffee in her hands.

"In the meantime..." Bruce smiled "You should be getting packed for that trip you were telling me about. Where is it that you're going again?"

"Panama." Sara said letting a knowing smile spread across her face "I figured it was time for a vacation."

-----------------------------

What was supposed to be hours turned into days as Sara stood by the phone waiting for the call telling her that Mark had been caught. But until that call came Sara was stuck waiting. She had bought her ticket and packed her suitcase days ago and they were now sitting by the door ready to go. Unfortunately she knew that it wasn't safe to go anywhere until Mark had been caught.

Sara was asleep when the phone started ringing waking her. She anxiously grabbed the receiver praying that it was the police calling to tell her the news.

"Hello?" she spoke it the phone.

"Miss Tancredi?" a voice came from the other end.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Sheriff Foster down here at the police station. I just wanted to let you know that we just caught Mark Jacobs and he's on his way to the state penitentiary as we speak."

"Oh my God, that's great thank you so much!" Sara replied anxiously.

She hung up the phone and quickly got dressed; she had a plane to catch.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Sara**

Sara watched out the window at the miles of sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. She had never been to Panama before now but she was beginning to see exactly why Michael had chosen it. The taxi slowed to a stop as the driver turned to Sara "This is it."

Sara looked around confused; they were in the middle of nowhere "What'd you mean? There's nothing here."

"The house you're looking for is about a mile inland that way." the driver replied kindly "No cars allowed past here."

Sara mumbled her thanks as she grabbed her luggage and exited the taxi. She stepped into the sand and headed in the direction the driver had pointed her in.

Figures Michael would build a house totally unreachable by civilization.

After about 20 minutes she had really begun to hate sand.

'Honestly what's the point?' she mused to herself. 'It gets everywhere; there's absolutely no way to escape it. And just when you think you've gotten rid of all of it, you somehow find more of it in places that it's impossible for sand to even reach.'

A grin that she couldn't suppress spread across her face as a small house in the distance came into view. She picked up her pace and eagerly made her way towards it.

As she got closer she noticed the large black SUV parked beside the house.

"Looks like someone broke the no cars rule." she mumbled to herself.

She made her way up the steps leading to the porch. She was about to knock when she noticed that the front door was already wide open.

"Hello? Anybody here?" she called into the house as she stepped inside.

She looked around anxiously until her eyes finally settled on him. He was sitting on the couch with his back to her.

"Hey stranger." she greeted him.

A moment passed and he had yet to acknowledge her presence. She started to panic a million thoughts popping into her head a once.

"Michael?" she said, anxiety evident in her voice.

She stepped closer to the couch praying for something, anything, from him.

"Michael, please say something. Yell at me, scream, throw me out, anything. Please just...do something." she pleaded with him.

When he still didn't say anything she made her way to stand in front of him.

"Will you at least..." She stopped and looked at him. He was propped up on the couch with his hands and legs tied together unconscious.

"Oh God." but before she could reach him a hand clamped tightly over her face and jerked her back roughly.

"Shhh," the husky voice whispered into her ear as the world started to fade to black.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Sara blinked rapidly trying to clear her mind as she started to come to. She was in a chair with her arms tied behind her back and her legs tied together on the floor. She turned her head a little to see Michael sitting beside her in the same position as she was. Her eyes quickly scanned over him, he was still knocked out but didn't seem to have any visible injuries.

"I was starting to think you were never going to wake up." the same husky voice from before spoke from behind her.

Sara rolled her eyes as Mark stepped into view "Oh my God, don't you have anything better to do than follow me around all the time?"

"Now Sara that's not very nice. I traveled all the way down here to see you and I don't even get a hello?"

Sara ignored him as she let her eyes travel over to Michael. Mark followed her gaze and stepped over towards him.

"I think it's about time we wake lover boy over her up."

He pulled out the smelling salts from his pocket and waved it under his nose. Michael's eyes slowly opened adjusting to the light as he came to. His eyes landed on Mark and then shifted quickly over to Sara.

"Sara? What are you...what's going on?" he asked confused.

"Michael..."

"Uh, I don't think so. If you have any questions you can ask me; not her." Mark interrupted.

Michael narrowed his eyes at Mark "What'd you want John?"

"First allow me to formally introduce myself; I'm Mark Jacobs and I'll be you're kidnapper this afternoon." he saw Michael's confused look and continued "My God, for a genius you sure are slow."

He then went on to explain his whole story to Michael

"But you see Sara over there put a little kink in my plan." he said turning around to face her "You just couldn't leave well enough alone could you Sara?"

"How are you even here right now? Last I heard you had been arrested and were on your way to jail." Sara asked determined not to show any ounce of fear whatsoever.

"You mean, good ol' Sheriff Foster? Yeah, made him up too. I knew that there was no way I could get to you as long as you thought I was still out there. And it didn't take a genius to figure out that you'd run straight back to him the moment you thought it was safe. And another thing..." Mark started but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of his cell phone in the other room.

"Be right back." he said as he swiftly made his way out of the room.

Sara quickly looked back over to Michael. They stared at each other for a moment; each knowing that this would be the last chance they would ever see each other again.

"Michael, we don't have a lot of time but I just want you to know that..."

Mark then busted into the room "Sorry for that guys seems as though we have to speed up the process a bit here. I'm on a bit of a tight schedule." he pulled out the gun from his pocket "So who wants to go first?"

"Lets start with...Sara!" he said making his way over to her.

"Get away from her you son of a..." Michael yelled angrily struggling in his chair.

Mark bent down to eye level with Sara her face showing no emotion as she peered back at him.

"Aren't you the least bit scared Sara? I don't think you quite understand; you're going to die and there's nothing you can do about it, not even he can save you now." he said gesturing towards Michael who was still struggling to break free.

Sara's eyes raised as she took in the rather large gash on the side of his head "Looks like someone got a good one out on you. Must hurt like hell." she saw Marks jaw tighten and knew she had hit a nerve. "Let me make this very clear when I say this to you, you don't scare me. I'm more scared of a Jack-in-in-the-box than I am of you."

He pushed back from her and raised his gun to her head. Michael stood by staring helplessly as the situation unfolded before him. He rocked from side to side desperately trying to break free.

Sara closed her eyes. She knew what was coming next; there was no way to stop it. She heard Mark cock the gun. She heard the sound of the shot just as she was knocked to the floor.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

The force from the fall had been enough to break Sara free of the ropes that bound her to the chair. She looked up to see Mark re-aiming his gun in her direction. She jumped up ready to defend herself when sirens filled the air.

She saw the panic on Mark's face and smirked "Looks like you have a choice to make. Shoot me and get caught or, get outta here before the police come breaking down the door."

Mark looked around nervously measuring his odds.

"Don't think this over yet Sara." he said, dropping his gun and running out the door.

"Whatever." Sara smiled; they had survived the impossible once again. Now she and Michael... _wait! Where was Michael? _

Sara turned around to see his body lying on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him.

"Michael!" she yelled running over to him.

Apparently when he had knocked her out of the way it sent the bullet flying straight into his chest.

Her hands roamed his body trying to find where exactly the bullet had hit him. She looked up to see his eyes drifting close. He was losing consciousness fast.

"Michael, Michael!" she said patting his cheeks "I need you to stay with me. Okay, you're going to be fine, I promise."

She ripped his shirt open, her eyes frantically scanning his chest. The amount of blood made it virtually impossible to see anything.

_'Oh God' _she thought to herself. It was all happening so fast she didn't know what to do. She tried to snap into doctor mode and focus but all she could think about was the fact that Michael was dying and there was nothing she could do to help him.

"Sara." his voice brought her crashing back to reality.

Her head snapped up to see him staring at her.

"Sara, I...I want you to know..."

"No! Don't do that to me Michael, don't give up. You have to hold on just a little bit longer, okay? Help is on the way."

She focused back on his chest. The sound of his voice had been enough to calm her down and help her focus.

Her eyes once again scanned his chest, this time quickly locating the bullet hole just above his heart. She took his shirt and quickly put it over the gaping hole, the once white shirt now completely red.

"Michael, I found it! I found..." she looked up to see that his eyes were now fully closed and he was barely breathing.

She heard yelling outside the house signaling the arrival of the police.

"Somebody help!" she screamed as the EMT's rushed in and over to Michael's body.

"What happened?" they asked setting up their equipment.

"He was shot in the chest." she answered quickly.

The EMT bent down to check his pulse.

"He's barely got a pulse. We need to get him out of here now!"

They carefully lifted him onto the stretcher and wheeled him outside. As they were putting him in the ambulance Sara looked over to see an officer putting a handcuffed Mark into the back of a police cruiser.

"Are you coming or not?" the EMT asked.

She nodded in response and climbed into the ambulance beside Michael. She clutched his hand firmly in hers as they raced through the streets.

----------------------------------------------

Sara nervously paced the square footage of the small waiting room. Michael had been in surgery for nearly 2 hours now and she had yet to hear any news on his condition.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a someone yelling down the hall.

"Will someone just tell me what is going on with my brother?!" the voice boomed from down the hall.

"Sir, please calm down..." a nurse asked from behind the desk.

"Don't tell me to calm down. My brother could be in there dying right now, and you want me to calm down?"

"Lincoln?" Sara asked stepping up to them.

"Sara? What are you doing here? Where's Michael? I come home from work and the police are there telling me that Michael was shot."

"He's in surgery right now; he should be out pretty soon. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Why do you care? Don't you have a fiancée or something to get home to?" He asked bitterly.

Sara looked down the guilt consuming her.

"Do you have any idea the hell you put him through? He hasn't been the same since he's been back."

"Lincoln, I'm really sorry for what I did to him. But the truth is I love your brother. And right now I'm scared to death because I honestly don't know if he's gonna make it, and I don't think I can take losing him again." she said, her voice breaking as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Lincoln's face softened at this. He knew she wasn't lying. He stepped closer wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace.

Just then the doctor came through the doors still adjourned in his scrubs.

"Any news on Michael?" Sara asked as he approached them.

"Are you family?" he asked coming to a stop in front of them.

"I'm his brother." Lincoln piped in.

"Well we were able to remove the bullet and I stitched him up the best I could."

"But..." Lincoln prodded impatiently.

"But...the bullet hit a major artery and managed to knick one of his lungs in the process." the doctor explained.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"It depends. I've managed to stabilize him, but it's up to him now. Either he fights and lives or he gives up and dies."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The nurse ushered Sara and Lincoln into the small hospital room. Michael was laid out in the middle room adjourned in the traditional hospital gown with a bandage wrapped around his head.

"Excuse me." Sara said to the nurse who was checking Michael's vitals "Why's his head wrapped up? I don't remember any head injuries."

"The doctor found a cut on his head with some minor swelling. Most likely happened when he hit the floor. Nothing serious." the nurse replied not looking up from her patient.

She scribbled some notes on his chart and quickly left the room.

Lincoln walked over to the chair in the corner of the room and dropped the large duffel bag of Michael's stuff into it. He turned back around and walked up to the side of Michael's bed.

"I'll give you guys some privacy." Sara said quickly standing up and exiting the room.

Lincoln looked back down at his little brother.

"Hey bro. Look I know things lately have really sucked and if I were you I probably wouldn't have anything left to fight for anymore either. But the doc's here. She's outside waiting to see you. I don't know what happened before she came here, but I know that right now she's a mess and you're the only thing that can fix that. Maybe when you wake up you can give her this..." Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box "I found it when I was packing your bag. Sara's here and my guess is she's not planning on leaving anytime soon, so as soon as you wake up you guys can fix everything." Lincoln walked over to the bag and put the ring safely inside. "I'm not much for the touchy final words thing so I'm just going to go now and let Sara come in here and talk to you. Love you Mike." he finished and walked towards the door.

He stepped outside to see Sara leaning on the wall right outside the door. Her eyes were puffy and she had tear streaks down her cheeks, he could tell she had been crying.

"Hey." he greeted her.

"Hi." she replied not looking at him.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." she rapidly wiped her eyes trying to rid herself of any evidence of her breakdown while Lincoln had been in Michael's room.

"Alright, well I'm done now so you can go in and..."

"I can't go in there." Sara interrupted.

"What'd you mean you can't go in there? He already thinks you abandoned him once and if you don't go in there than he'll think you left again and he really won't have a reason to fight." Lincoln yelled.

"I'm just...scared. What if he dies?" Sara asked with a shaky voice.

"Would you rather him die knowing you weren't there?" Lincoln lowered his voice. "Do you want to go through life asking yourself what if?"

She knew he was right; she had to tell him how she felt before it was too late.

"Thanks Lincoln" she said getting up and making her way towards the door.

"Sure thing Doc."

----------------------------------------------

The room was quiet; the only sound was the steady beeping of the heart monitor hooked up to Michael.

Sara sat down into the chair next to his bed. He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping.

"Michael, its Sara. I don't even know if you can here me, but there are something's I need to tell you. So I'll talk and you can listen." Sara took a deep breath. "Before I met you I drifted through life not really living but functioning. The worst part is that I didn't even realize it. But then I met you and it's like I was alive for the first time in years. Then you left and I was numb again. I tried so hard to get that feeling back. I was so angry that I tried to find someone else to prove that to myself that I didn't need you to be happy. Then I met Mark and he was so much like you that I thought I could be happy again. But even before I found out what a psycho he was I knew he could never make me feel half the way I feel when I'm with you. Everyday that went by, even when I was mad at you; I wanted to be with you. But like you said I was too stubborn to try and do anything about it."

Sara gently took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers together.

"I know that I hurt and I'm so sorry, leaving you was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. But you should know that I lied when I told you I didn't love you. The truth is that I have loved you since the first day I saw you and everyday since then. Michael, you're one of the strongest people I know. Please hang in there; if not for me than for Lincoln and LJ, they need you. I need you. I can't lose you, not again, because if it weren't for you I never would have known what love was and I plan on spending the rest of my life making up for the time we never spent together. So as soon as you wake up we'll be able to start the rest of our lives together."

She brought their hands up and placed a gentle kiss on his palm.

"But until then I'm not going anywhere; I promise."

--------------------------------------------------

Sara still clutched Michael's hand tightly in hers as she slept.

She woke with a start when the warning bell on Michael's heart monitor went off. The nurses and doctor came rushing in.

"You need to leave ma'am." the nurse told a panicked Sara.

"Michael!" she yelled as they pulled her out of the room.

She watched from the door as the nurses tried to resuscitate him. Lincoln came rushing up behind her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Michael just flat lined." she informed him not taking her eyes off the doctor as he worked.

One of the nurses walked up to the door and closed it blocking them from seeing anymore.

----------------------------------------------

Sara and Lincoln sat in the waiting room waiting for the news on Michael's condition.

They bolted out of their seats as soon as the doctor walked in.

"What happened?" Lincoln asked impatiently.

"The wound on his head was more serious than we originally thought. The gash on his head became infected and caused some brain-swelling to occur. It caused a blockage in his brain that caused his heart to stop. We managed to catch to remove the blockage and get his heart started again. He's going into surgery right now to relieve some of the swelling."

"Why the hell didn't you guys catch this sooner?" Lincoln raged tightening his fists at his sides.

"It didn't show up in the scanner and the bullet wound prevented us from doing any further tests."

"How long should the surgery take?" Lincoln asked calming down a bit.

"About an hour and a half. It's a fairly minor surgery and I don't foresee any complications."

"Other than the swelling how is everything else?" Sara piped in.

"There's been a major improvement in the last few hours. I can't explain how but his body seems to be healing itself."

The doctor excused himself and rushed into the next room.

"Michael's going to be okay!" Sara said to Lincoln with a huge smile.

"I heard; that's great."

"I wonder how he improved so quickly in a matter of a few hours. Medically it doesn't make any sense."

"I think I have a pretty good idea."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Here you go two steaming hot cups of world famous hospital coffee." Lincoln said placing the two cups on the table in front of Sara.

"Thanks." she said as she took a sip.

Lincoln winced as he sampled his own cup "That's disgusting."

Sara let out a small chuckle before she turned serious again "Can I ask you something Linc?"

He nodded his approval and she continued "How has he been? I mean besides getting shot."

Lincoln shook his head "I don't think we should be talking about this Sara."

"Lincoln, please. I just wanna know if he's been okay, because to tell you the truth I'm scared to death that when he wakes up he's not going to want to even look at me." She looked down at the cup nestled in her hands.

"When he came back he was okay at first." Lincoln started, staring at the wall at the far side of the cafeteria. "I mean don't get me wrong he wasn't all smiles and puppy dogs but you could tell that there was something there. I think maybe it was hope. Hope you would come back or maybe it was all some horrible dream he was waiting to wake up from, I don't know. Everyday he just sat on the couch staring at the front door. He wouldn't eat anything, wouldn't sleep, wouldn't budge from that couch. Time went on and I think he realized you weren't coming back and this wasn't a dream he would wake up from. He quit his job and spent his days hauled up in his room building model airplanes and crap like that. You really put him through hell."

Lincoln took a deep breath and continued "But despite all of that...I don't doubt for even a second that Michael will be happy to see you again."

"I don't understand though, how could he just do that? I mean from what you said it sounds like I really hurt him. How could he just forget about all of that and just forgive me?"

"Because you mean the world to him Sara. And when you love someone as much as Michael loves you, you tend to let go of things a lot easier if it means that the end result is being with you."

Sara looked away from him and back down to the table. She still didn't understand how Michael could just forgive and forget like that. They had been in the same type of situation a year ago, he had really hurt her and it took her 'til just a few weeks ago to truly forgive him. With Michael it seemed to just take a matter of seconds and she was sure the level of pain she had caused him had been worse than what he had done to her.

"I just hope..." Lincoln continued suddenly "That the feeling is mutual."

Sara looked back up to him and met his gaze. "It is."

-----Back In Michael's Room-----

The nurses had just wheeled Michael back into his room. Moments later someone else slipped through the door. She stepped fully into the room and took in Michael's still sleeping form. She turned around and ran a hand over the wall as she made her way to the chair in the corner.

Feeling her curiosity get the better of her she decided to snoop around in the bag Lincoln had left for him earlier that day. Her hand drifted through the carelessly thrown in articles of clothing. She stopped when her fingers hit a small velvety box near the bottom of the bag.

She pulled it out and carefully opened it up. In the center sat the most beautiful, yet simplistic diamond engagement ring she had ever seen. She read the inscription: To My One and Only.

She was startled by the sound of movement coming from the bed behind her. She turned around, quickly shoving the ring behind her back as she did.

Michael stirred awake as he opened his eyes and took in the small hospital room he was in. His eyes scanned carefully over every inch of the room until his eyes landed on the girl standing in the corner. His eyes filled with confusion "Who are you?"

She saw her opportunity and decided to take it, carefully slipping the ring onto her finger.

She held up her hand as evidence "I'm Emily, your fiancée."

-Sorry for the long wait. There'll probably be one more chapter after this.-


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

_Michael_

"I'm...I'm sorry I don't understand, fiancée? I have a fiancée?" Michael asked sitting up and taking in the woman before him.

"Yeah, don't you remember me?"

Michael shook his head trying to clear up the confusion that had settled in. "I'm sorry I don't... what'd you say your name was?"

"Emily, Emily Hanson."

"Okay, and I am."

"You're Michael Scofield. You're a structural engineer, you're an only child, and we've been engaged for 4 months."

Michael just nodded his head as he tried to process all the new information.

"Michael listen..." Emily said sitting on the edge of his bed and resting her hand on his "I know all this is a lot to process right now and that it's all a little confusing. We're going to get through this together; I'm going to help you remember everything."

"Okay." was all Michael could say. The whole situation was still a little overwhelming.

"I have to go make a few calls, but I'll be back soon." Emily said giving him a small smile before retrieving her cell phone and exiting the room.

_Sara/Lincoln_

"So the next day I found him in the living room wearing my football helmet in nothing but a diaper and cowboy boots eating a bowl of dry Capt. Crunch study the screen door." Lincoln finished with a chuckle.

"And how old was he?" Sara managed to say through her laughter.

"Twelve."

They were both laughing so hard they almost fell out their chairs.

Lincoln checked his watch.

"Michael should be out of surgery by now. Maybe we should go check."

"Yeah, okay." Sara said still not to sure of where they stood and not too eager to find out.

"Everything's going to be fine." Lincoln said sensing her hesitation and offering her his hand "Come on."

Sara smiled as she took his hand and stood up "Alright, let's go."

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When they arrived up at Michael's room there were two officers standing guard outside of the room.

Lincoln furrowed his brow and approached the two with Sara following close behind.

"Is there a problem officers?" he asked.

"Are you Lincoln Burrows and Sara Tancredi?" one of the two asked.

"Yeah, who wants to know?"

"Please place your hands on your head, you're both under arrest."

"On what grounds?" Sara spoke up.

"Accessory to attempted murder." the officer replied roughly bringing their hands behind their backs and handcuffing them.

"Let me go. We didn't do anything." Lincoln yelled roughly struggling in his cuffs.

"I'm sorry sir but we're going to have to take you down to the station."

"Like hell you are. Who told you to arrest us?"

"That would be me." Emily said opening the door and stepping into the hall to join the rest of them.

"What are you doing here?" Sara asked bitterly taking in Emily's presence.

"Nice to see you again too Sara." Emily smiled.

"I wish I could say the same about you. What's going on?"

"I'm here to make sure Michael's properly taken care of."

"What makes you think you have the right to do that?" Sara asked angrily.

"Well, as his fiancée, I think it's my responsibility don't you?" she asked holding up her hand to show off the ring to them.

A look of betrayal flashed across Sara's face as she shifted her gaze over to Lincoln. Michael was engaged and he didn't even tell her? He was just going to let her believe that everything was going to be okay? But as she took in Lincoln's face she could tell he knew nothing about it.

"Where did you get that?" Lincoln looking back over to Emily. "That's not yours."

Emily just laughed.

"I'm confused." Sara said looking back and forth between the two. "If it's not her ring than whose is it?"

Lincoln looked at the ground as Emily spoke up "My guess is probably that it's yours Sara."

"Mine? Linc, what is she talking about?" Sara asked looking over at Lincoln who was still studying his shoes.

"What, he didn't tell you? Well my guess is that boy wonder in there bought the ring and was planning to propose before you broke his heart and sent him packing." she took the ring off and read the inscription "To My One and Only. Sweet but I guess that didn't last too long now did it Sara?"

Sara desperately fought the tears trying to surface "Why are you doing this?"

"Because Michael needs someone who will be there and give him what he needs."

"And what makes you think you know what he needs?" Sara asked staring her down.

"Because I would never hurt him like you did." She answered "Take them away officers." she dismissed them turning around to re-enter Michael's room.

"No, wait! Michael...Michael!" Sara yelled resisting as she and Lincoln were dragged down the hall.

_To Be Continued... _

--Thank you all for reading this story, this is the last chapter but be surre to watch out for the sequel--


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